Roasted Turkey Breast Recipe

4.63 from 48 votes

Roasting turkey breast is a simple way to make juicy turkey for Thanksgiving, or any meal. The garlic butter rub on this turkey adds so much flavor!

Step-by-step photos can be seen below the recipe card

Prep Time20

Cook Time2

Total Time2 20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Author: Becky Hardin

Equipment

1 Roasting Pan
1 Instant Read Meat Thermometer

Ingredients

5-7 lbs skin-on turkey breast boneless or bone-in; natural and un-brined
16 tbsp unsalted butter room temperature (2 sticks)
4 heads garlic divided
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 tsp chopped fresh sage leaves
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon juiced and zested
½ cup dry white wine
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°F and line a large roasting pan with foil. Spray both sides of a wire rack with nonstick spray, and place the wire rack over the pan.
Pat the turkey breast dry, inside and out, with paper towels and set it, skin side up, on the wire rack.
5-7 lbs skin-on turkey breast
Mince 20 cloves (about 2 heads) of garlic and cut the other 2 heads of garlic in half.
4 heads garlic
In a small bowl, mix the butter, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, rosemary, sage, thyme, salt, black pepper, lemon juice, and lemon zest together.
16 tbsp unsalted butter, 4 heads garlic, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves, 2 tsp chopped fresh sage leaves, 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves, 2 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, 1 lemon
Using your fingers, loosen the skin from the breast meat.
Smear 1/2 of the garlic butter underneath the skin and directly over the meat on each side of the breasts. Use the remaining 1/2 garlic butter to coat the outer skin of the breasts.
Use 2-3 toothpicks per each half of the breasts to secure the skin to the breasts. This will keep the skin from shrinking too much during roasting.
Pour the wine and broth into the bottom of the roasting pan, and set the garlic halves in the roasting pan.
½ cup dry white wine, 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
Roast the turkey at in the preheated oven for 1½-2 hours, or until the internal temperature registers 162°F-163°F on an instant-read thermometer when inserted into the meatiest part of the breast. If the skin is darkening too quickly, tent the turkey with aluminum foil. If the skin doesn’t crisp enough, broil for 2–3 minutes at the end (watch closely).
Remove the turkey from the oven and tent snugly with foil for 15 minutes before slicing.
Taste the pan juices and, if desired season. Serve the turkey with the pan juices.

Video

Notes

Foil method: If you’re worried about dryness, cover with foil for most of the cook time, then uncover for the last 30 minutes.
Garlic care: Prevent garlic from burning by nestling cloves under the turkey skin or covering with foil if needed.

Size vs cook time chart:

Bone-in Turkey Breast

3–4 lb bone-in: ~1 hr 45 min
5–6 lb bone-in: ~2 hrs 15 min

Boneless Turkey Breast

2–3 lb: ~30–40 minutes
4–5 lb: ~1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes
6–7 lb: ~1 hour 20 minutes – 1 hour 40 minutes

Nutrition